The colors of rubies and emeralds are so striking that they define shades of red and green—ruby red and emerald green. But ...

Both rubies and emeralds are minerals, which is a type of rock with a consistent chemical composition and a highly ordered structure at the atomic level. When this highly ordered structure extends ...

One feature of compounds made with transition metals is their intense colour. There are many examples in nature, including ...

benedek/E+ via Getty Images Both rubies and emeralds are minerals, which is a type of rock with a consistent chemical composition and a highly ordered structure at the atomic level. When this ...

When this highly ordered structure extends in all three dimensions, the mineral becomes a crystal. With a theory developed by physicists in the 1920s called crystal field theory, scientists can ...

Crystal field theory makes predictions about how a transition metal ion’s structure is affected by the other atoms surrounding it. Rubies are mainly made up of the mineral corundum, which is ...

It’s getting hotter — and more expensive to stay cool — in the island nation. Will it become the first in Southeast Asia to ...